The present invention relates to a sheet collecting apparatus having a plurality of collecting chambers and, more particularly, to a sheet collecting apparatus capable of dispensing sheets from the collecting chambers by opening dispensing ports of the collecting chambers.
A bill sorter/stacker has been developed as a sheet collecting apparatus wherein sheets such as bills or bank notes including various denominations are at once inspected and sorted/counted in accordance with the inspection results.
In the bill sorter/stacker of this type, first denomination bills (e.g. 100-dollar or 20-pound notes), second denomination bills (e.g. 50-dollar or 10-pound notes), third denomination bills (e.g. 10-dollar or 5-pound notes) and fourth denomination bills (e.g. 5-dollar or 1-pound notes) are sorted and stacked in four collecting chambers, respectively. When the bills of one batch have been sorted and stacked, the dispensing ports of the collecting chambers are opened, and the bills of each denomination are stacked in the respective bill compartments. Thereafter, bills of a next batch are subject to sorting and collecting.
Conventionally, shutter mechanisms are disposed with respect to the collecting chambers so as to open the dispensing ports thereof, respectively. Therefore, the conventional bill sorter/stacker has a complex construction which results in high cost. In addition to these disadvantages, a large installation space is required, and compact construction of the apparatus as a whole is disabled.